Deja Pancham
Pre-Deja Deja was born to Vima and Tahin Pancham one rainy July 12th in Romford, a large town in east London. However, were it not for her mother, that would not have been the location of her birth, but we'll get to that. Vima, although a full-blood Indian, was not directly from India; she was, in fact, the fourth generation of her family to not be born in the country of her nationality. It also just so happens that, like her daughter, she too was born and raised in London, and even went to Hogwarts as a student of Ravenclaw house. What about Deja's father, you ask? Well, Tahin was born and raised in India. From a wealthy pureblood family, he grew up in what might be considered a palace to some, though he was not royalty. He met Vima when he was twenty four and she was twenty two, and she was visiting the country of her heritage. They quickly hit it off when they met in line at a merchant's tent in a large market, and got to talking. Vima ended up extending her stay a year just to be able to keep spending time with Tahin, but she did have to go home after that year. With heavy hearts, they parted ways, and though they kept in touch, they couldn't maintain the distance between each other for long. A few months later, Tahin went to Vima to visit her, and there he remained, another few months later, proposing. Of course, she accepted, and he took her back to India, wanting to have a traditional wedding. After the wedding, everything was smooth sailing-- ...Well... for a while... Tahin noticed, that for all the luxuries he was able to offer Vima, she was clearly not happy in their new home, unless she was right by his side. Upon asking her what was wrong, she explained that she was bored; she needed something to do. Since he has the type of personality that would have landed him in Hufflepuff, had he gone to Hogwarts, Tahin told Vima that he understood, and he assured her that whatever it was that she chose to do, he would stay by her side. Ever so grateful, she began looking, and found a mentally stimulating muggle job in the field of science (despite being a pureblood witch), but it was back in London. When she told Tahin, she was clearly worried about doing so, and with good reason, considering the point of view purebloods have on working witches and wizards. Indeed he was, at first, reluctant to agree to this, but after some thought, it made sense to him; he could see that it was what she needed to do, and he accepted it. Elated, Vima quickly set things in motion, and in seemingly no time at all, they had established themselves in an upscale area of Romford. They had been there about a year and a half when Vima found out that she was pregnant. Although they had not yet planned on being parents, they were by no means upset, but Vima was a bit scared. Nine months later, when she saw her newborn daughter for the first time, that fear only got worse, and became a sort of super protectiveness. Pre-Hogwarts Now, growing up with a protective mother and a doting father, you might think Deja would be either a relatively well adjusted individual, or a spoiled brat. You would, however, be wrong with either of those assumptions. Even as a mere infant, Deja was... different. She rarely cried, and, in fact, was just generally very quiet, even her movement was minimal. Concerned, her parents had her checked out, but nothing was found to be wrong with her. The hope was that she would become more normal as she grew, but that was not to be. When other children were learning to walk and talk, she remained seated and silent, quite late to each of those milestones, not, seemingly due to any developmental issues, however, but rather an apparent lack of interest in doing those things. While she was delayed in those things, her mental processes were faster than normal, learning to read and even write very early, and evidently enjoying reading more than anything else. Her enjoyment of reading and learning was rapidly granting her a wealth of knowledge. ...Including things she should not be learning. Deja's parents eventually felt the need to restrict her access to certain texts, but living in such an urban area, that wasn't possible to do completely. Despite her discomfort around people, she would make her way to the library, which was in walking distance from their home. Perhaps the only reason she was able to do this, was because there was no real need to interact with anyone at any point during her excursions from her home. I suppose, having mentioned her discomfort around people, I should delve deeper into what her personality became. Deja is introverted and very shy, though her curiosity can bring her out of her shell. She prefers quiet time alone with a book, preferably in a sunny window, which is even more comfortable for her if her cat is with her. Usually, she's pretty calm, but when she's on a topic she's passionate about, she can become quite animated. However, once she notices she's in that mode, she may do a quick shut down, and collapse in on herself. This is due to her cripplingly sever social anxiety, particularly around people she doesn't know well. That said, although Deja does care greatly for people (despite her fearful awkwardness and discomfort around them), she is also a very cerebral person, and she doesn't have the best understanding of emotions, her own included. Ruled by logic, it is almost a source of comfort for her; things that are logical are predictable and safe. Emotions are not predictable for her. There are too many variables with emotions, and as a result, they often don't make sense. This makes the emotions that can be more complicated, such as love, that much harder for her, and often generate another confusing emotion: fear. Deja tends to look for the hows and whys in things, and those are plenty clear with books and spells, but that's not always the case in matters of the heart. There is a part of her that wishes she were good with people, but the part of her mind that she considers most logical reminds her that she never will be. ...Which actually brings me to her first showing of magic. When she was maybe six or seven, her father had found out about a play of sorts that some young witches and wizards were putting on, and he figured taking Deja to see it might be a good idea. Well, upon arriving, he discovered that he knew the producer of this little play, and that granted him and Deja backstage access when the kids were done. Deja was afraid to go back and meet people she didn't know, but Tahin assured her that everything would be fine, and that she might even make a friend. That last bit hurt. Though, at the time, she didn't know why. Still, she did go with him, and even tried her best not to resist when he gently steered her toward the other children. Children, however, can be quite cruel, and while she did want to get along with them, they easily picked up on her shyness. One girl made a comment about Deja needing her father to start things for her, and the other children quickly chimed in, all of them moving closer to Deja. Hurt, frightened, and just plain overwhelmed, she backed into the table with multiple copies of the script scattered over it. Feeling a piece of paper touch her finger, she glanced back to see all the loose papers, and instinct took over. With a shout of "Get away from me!" Deja flung her hands forward, palms out, and the sheets of paper streamed off the table, flying at the cluster of children. Tahin hurried his daughter out, and upon returning home, contacted Vima with the news. Deja fully expected to be punished, but to her surprise and confusion, she found that her parents were happy. When Vima got home, her conversation with Tahin was about school. Eavesdropping, Deja learned that her father wanted her to go to India and attend school where he had, but her mother wanted her to end up at Hogwarts, where she had gone. Since this was a subject of conflict, they decided to each present their case for their school, let Deja ask questions, and ultimately, let Deja decide. She listened, and deciding she didn't like the gender issues of India, and just how far away her father's school was, she chose Hogwarts. Watching both parents, she got a nod from each of them. As far as she knew, her mother never rubbed it in that her school was the one chosen, and it wasn't long before a letter came, confirming Hogwarts as the school she would go to. There can be little doubt that it was the little family's conversation, coupled with where they lived, that swayed the hands of fate in that direction. Hogwarts Express September 1, 2021, eleven years old, Deja was bound for her first trip on the Hogwarts Express. Her parents saw her off through the platform wall, but from there, she was on her own. Since she was early enough, she got herself an empty compartment on the train, and she silently hoped it would stay that way. However, that was not her luck. A while later, a blonde haired girl opened the door to her compartment and smiled at her before asking, "Can I join you in here? There weren't any available seats in the other cabins that I checked." Had she not been silenced by noticing this girl's accent, Deja would probably have given her a quiet "No." Taking Deja's silence as an affirmative, the girl plopped herself down across from her, "I'm Mathilda Botts, but you can call me Maddy, and I'm so excited for my second year at Hogwarts! Who are you? I haven't seen you around, so you must be a first year." Goodness, this girl certainly was chatty. Deja wasn't sure how to react, but she could at least provide answers, "I-I'm Deja... Pancham... And, um... yes, this is my first year..." Mathilda quieted a moment, seeming to process the way Deja responded, and it was almost as though a switch of instant decision was flipped in this older girl's mind; she would befriend and guide this shy first-year. With that, she informed Deja that she was a half Irish half Scottish muggleborn witch from the Hufflepuff house, and with a considerable amount of effort, managed to pull information from Deja about herself. Quite pleased that someone had made the effort to be her friend, Deja slowly began to open up to Mathilda, even hoping she would end up in Hufflepuff, though she knew that logically, she wouldn't. Sorting Deja knew that one of the first things a young witch or wizard experiences at Hogwarts, is the sorting ceremony, but, even with her mother's description of it, she could not be prepared for how it was going to go for her. Right from the start, she was nervous, though she couldn't have articulated why, at first. She stood with the rest of the first-years, waiting for her name to be called, even noting that, though Mathilda was chatting with some of her friends over at the Hufflepuff table, the blonde girl seemed to be keeping an eye on her. That did make her feel somewhat better. ...At least until her name was called, at which point, her nervousness returned, and she made her way slowly up front, shrinking in on herself under all the eyes on her. When she sat down on the designated seat, the sorting hat was promptly placed on her head. For a long moment, nothing happened, and her nervousness became dread. Was something wrong? Was there something she was supposed to be doing that she wasn't, or was the hat simply unable to sort her? She was about to panic when the hat finally shifted, and she heard a contemplative voice by her ears, "Hmm... Hmm... A complicated one, indeed..." What? Complicated? Maybe her fears were right, and she couldn't be sorted. The voice was firmer this time, "I can sort you. Let us see now... A fearful one, obviously. ...But... capable of being brave if forced to be... Certainly not a Gryffindor, though." Well that was alright; she hadn't expected to be in Gryffindor anyway, and couldn't help but think, I could have told you /that/... The hat quieted a moment, as if it heard that thought, but did not acknowledge it. Instead, it waited as she mentally scolded herself for her own thought, and apologized, I'm sorry... I know I essentially /did/ tell you, simply by you being on my head... When the hat spoke again, its tone was one of mild exasperation, "Yes, you did. Now..." It continued rummaging around in her mind, "Quite driven and ambitious, but not willing to step over certain lines... That won't do for a Slytherin." She wasn't sure about that one. She, at least, felt that she was willing to do anything to further her goals, and a bit of doubt touched her mind. The hat, however, sure of its deduction there, ignored it, continuing on, "Here's something... Patient and a hard worker. Loyal, kind, compassionate... Perhaps Hufflepuff..." Hufflepuff? Well, she did already have a friend there, and had hoped she would be placed there, but hadn't thought it likely at all. That train of though was quickly derailed by the hat's next words, though, "No no... far too shy. And when focused on something, you tend to ignore others for that,unintentionally seeming uncaring, though you're not. Not socially outgoing--" Now a new though made her interrupt aloud, the watching crowd temporarily forgotten, "Wait... Have you ever been wrong? I-I-I mean... sorted someone into the wrong house...?" Insulted, the hat's voice was indignant, "My sorting is /never/ wrong. I will put you in the correct house." She looked at her hands, feeling bad for upsetting the hat, but she had to be clear on the situation, and she didn't quite believe that there could never have been an error on the hat's part, "But logistically, it doesn't seem possible to have a one hundred percent success rate on something like this... There w-would have to have been some m-mistakes... ...And on the off chance that there haven't been to date... What if... What if I end up being the first...?" The hat did not speak right away. For those that could see its folded face, it would be clear that it was trying to push away its aggravation, in order to do its job. When it spoke again, its words were slow and deliberate, "I. Do. Not. Make. Mistakes. Now..." With a sigh, it continued, Ignoring Deja's dejected slump forward. "Very intelligent... Very clever... with a sharp wit as well. An endless thirst for knowledge. Creative. Unique vision, and a great love of the things you see as beautiful... For all your social shortcomings, you are, in fact, intuitive and wise... Because of your own eccentricities, you are accepting, and value originality... Introspection is part of your usually quiet nature, it seems... and you observe not only yourself, but others too, and tend to compare. As you displayed in questioning me, you are analytical and logical... but not always correct in being so, I might add. ...Anyway, you are idealistic, but that's alright; you are equally a unique individual, and I say, you quite nicely meet the criteria for... RAVENCLAW!" With that, the hat was removed from her head, and realization that everyone had been watching her and listening to that for quite some time, washed over her, and her pulse jumped into her throat. Finally sorted, though, she hurried to her house's table, seeking out a spot as minimally populated as possible. She did, however, catch the thumbs up that Mathilda offered in her direction, but the only thing she gave back was a weak smile. At least it was over, and while she did feel like she was correctly sorted, doubt still nagged at her mind a bit, but that was natural for her. Category:Ravenclaws Category:Students